A wife and a mom of six boys and one girl, residing in Minnesota. We are a family devoted to following the Lord and seeking and promoting Truth. This is a collection of my mom moments, random thoughts, and fun educational ideas for parents of young kids.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Health Nuts (peanut-free)

We just got some of the basic info for the boys on starting school. They'll be riding the bus to school together in the morning and then Caleb will be home by noon and Sam will come back just before four.

Reading through the information, I learned that for $50 each for the year, they will be provided with a healthy snack mid-morning. All kids are restricted from bringing soda to school for lunch or for any other time, and in order to set a good example, parents are restricted from bringing soda if they'll be eating with their child at the school. It's not healthy. And it's down with birthday treats! Not only are they restricted from bringing homemade goodies (you never know when that martini mom's drinking will spill into the brownie mix), they are now restricted from bringing goodies of any sort. Instead, each teacher will decide a way to celebrate a child's birthday in a healthy way. A "happy birthday" apple, for instance. Or perhaps a celebratory drink of milk.

I'm all for healthy. For the most part, I don't allow my children to drink soda, I don't feed them candy, and they are required to eat veggies at meals. I really appreciate this effort toward healthy. I wouldn't want one of the drink choices to be soda at lunchtime. My soon-to-be first-grader does not have the self-discipline needed to choose milk each day. But no birthday treat?? One of Sam's highlights of his year last year was bringing a birthday treat to share with his class. And really, with 24 or so students in each classroom, it's not like they'll be eating one every day!

I suppose Adam and Eve didn't have a Dark Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cup tree in the garden of Eden. I suppose they ate healthyand organic all the time. Just pick and eat. That fruit must have been delicious.

So am I wrong to want birthday treats in school? I must be getting old, because I remember "the good old days" when Mom sent me to school with peanut butter coconut balls to share. And nobody had trouble opening the cellophane. Because those were packaged with Mom's tender loving handmade touch.

I guess birthday treats are just one more thing that's gone the way of riding in the station wagon with the backseat down and walking up the street to a friends house - one without a sidewalk.

Anonymous Spirit Lifter? Give me a break! I am in full support of the birthday treat. Maybe instead of an edible birthday treat you could send some spiritually healthy brain food in the form of NTs or something.

The peanut-free birthday treats policy has arrived at Holton Kansas! We have 2 kindergarten students this year with peanut allergies, one pretty severe. So the K-2 building has a new policy that all birthday treats must be boughten, individually pre-wrapped and peanut-free. Next year the policy will be district wide. One kindergarten teacher found that her big jar of animal crackers will even have to go. They were processed in equipment also used for peanut products! Oh well! Mom Phillips